


Breaking Point

by Arliah (SaskiaSinclair)



Category: Choices: Open Heart, Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:55:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18904342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaskiaSinclair/pseuds/Arliah
Summary: As Dr. Casey Valentine deals with the consequences of her decisions related to Mrs. Martinez' death, another major tragedy strikes Edenbrook Hospital. With the absence of her mentor, betrayal of a friend, and the possibility of losing her job, Dr. Valentine cracks under pressure.





	Breaking Point

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to two songs on repeat while writing this, 'listen before i go' by Billie Eilish and 'Medicine' by Daughter. This is basically a different, more angsty version of some of the major events that have happened in Chapter 14. Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Pixelberry.

Flatline.

Your eyes widen in horror at the scene unfolding in front of you. The loud, monotonous humming from the monitor drowns the panicked orders given by Dr. Harper Emery, the surgeon in charge of the operation. Pushing Dr. Emery out of the way, Bryce holds a pair of defibrillator paddles in front of him, ready to press them against the patient’s chest.

That’s right, you tell yourself, that’s Rafael Aveiro right there. The same Rafael who taught you how to dance the samba in the middle of the street with no music on. The same Rafael whose heart is bigger than any of the doctors you know. Rafael, one of the most loyal people you’ve ever met, your good friend, is lying on the operating table, eyes closed and lifeless. The sudden recognition jolts your mind back to your surroundings and you realize that you have been frozen in place for several minutes now. You glance up at the gallery where you can make out the faces of your friends waiting in anticipation. Sienna nestles her head on Jackie’s shoulder, both of them puffy-eyed. Then, the other sounds in the operating room come back to you.

“Clear!” Bryce shouts for what seems like the hundredth time. The scrub nurse gives Dr. Emery a worried glance as she reluctantly pulls away. Everyone in the operating room watches as the electric shock jerks Rafael’s body upwards right before it falters and remains motionless once more.

As Bryce prepares the defibrillator for another round, Dr. Emery puts her hand on his shoulder and turns to face him. “That’s enough, Dr. Lahela,” she says. “He’s gone.”

“Just one more, Dr. Emery,” his voice is determined. He shrugs her hand off his shoulder and, without meeting her gaze, steps towards Rafael once more.

“Step away from the patient, Dr. Lahela!”. Everyone in the room jumps at the sound of Dr. Emery’s voice. “Time of death, 3:45,” she continues. “I trust you remember that there are other patients in need of surgery today. Get back to the ER.”

“I need a minute,” says Bryce, his voice barely a whisper.

“The other patients don’t have--”

“I said I need a minute!” Bryce yells. Defeated, he throws the paddles on top of the other surgical equipment, sending the smaller ones flying across the floor. Bryce takes a look at you, his expression unreadable. He clenches his jaw and walks towards the exit, right before tossing his mask and gloves in the waste bin.

You back away slowly, your breaths tight and shallow. You take another look at Rafael’s face and try to blink back your tears but it is too late for that. You clutch one hand with the other in front of your chest and they tremble as realization dawns on you. Rafael is dead. You see Dr. Emery look up at the gallery with her arms crossed.

“Get back to work,” she says then turns to you, “All of you”. She storms out of the operating room followed by several of the nurses and doctors, including Jackie and Sienna in the gallery. You notice one of the scrub nurses as he turns off the monitor. Your legs start moving towards the doors and all of a sudden you’re back in the emergency room. You try your best to help with triage by tagging the rest of the patients who have arrived and you ignore the fact that all you see is Rafael’s face back in the operating room.

As soon as your shift ends and most of the patients have been dealt with, you start heading back to the lockers when a pair of small hands tug at one of yours. You see Lucia looking up at you, beaming. Behind her is her father, his eyes searching the emergency room. He smiles when he notices you looking at him.

“I was wondering if you could help me,” he says. “Have you seen the man who rescued my Lucia? I want to thank him personally.” Your knees buckle and tears start flowing but you try your best compose yourself.

“I’m sorry but Mr. Aveiro didn’t make it,” you say, choking at the last three words. “Please excuse me.” You take hurried steps away from the pair and bump into Bryce. He puts his hands on your shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze but you don’t look at him. He pulls you in an embrace when you fail to hide the redness of your eyes from crying, but you don’t move.

“Shh, it’s okay, Case,” he says as he rubs your back. “Come on, don’t do this here.” He pulls away and holds your hand. Following his footsteps, you end up in one of the on-call rooms. He locks the door behind him and stands with his back against it.

“He’s gone, Bryce,” you say in a frantic voice. You walk back and forth “Why did you let me in that operating room? If you had another surgeon instead of me, maybe he would still be alive.” Your heart beats violently inside your chest. “Why didn’t you save him?” You begin beating at his chest with your closed fists while Bryce looks down at the floor. “You said you were going to save him. You promised...” Your voice trails off as Bryce grips both of your wrists. You realize that he is now looking at you, tears streaming down his face. He lets go of you. He grinds his teeth but his eyes are warm and gentle on you.

“I know you’re hurting. He’s my friend, too, Case,” he says. “But if this is what you need in order to process everything that’s been weighing on you lately, go on then.” He takes a step towards you. “If this is what you need to get back up on your feet, then, by all means, blame me.”

You search for answers in his eyes but find them on his lips. He notices your gaze and responds by cradling your face in his hands and planting kisses on your forehead, then on your cheeks, as if he’s trying to erase the tear stains on them. His lips find yours and you find yourself returning his kisses with more fervor. Your hands travel underneath his scrubs, on top of his bare chest. He pulls away and gazes intently at you, his eyes questioning.

“I need this,” you pleaded, “I need you.” You take a step back to take off your shirt and, without skipping a beat, crashed your lips against his. He leans into you while he pulls you in, his tongue slipping into your mouth. You pause for a brief moment to pull his shirt over his head and then you’re back in each other arms. You let out a deep moan when you start kissing him once more. His hands travel along the curves of your waist up to your chest, then on the shallow crevices close to your collarbone. Goosebumps follow the trail of his fingertips until one of his hands finds the back of your neck while the other holds onto the small of your back.

You slowly back away towards the bed behind you, pulling Bryce on top of you, but never breaking from the kiss. You drown in each other’s touch and yet neither of you feel the need to come up for air. Letting go of him feels like removing the very strings that are holding your pieces together. You pull the remaining pieces of clothing off of each other and discard them on the floor.

Bryce positions himself between your legs then leans forward, his hands propping him up on either side of you. You feel the heat coming from the area where your bodies meet so you buckle your hips, hoping he gets the signal to continue. Bryce groans and bites his lower lip at the sudden shift but he doesn’t budge.

“Please, Bryce,” you beg. You have never wanted him, longed for him, as much as you do at this very moment.

Bryce hesitates. You watch as he gazes at you with painful longing. You then realize that Bryce needs this, probably more than you do. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down to kiss him. His lips graze the base of your jaw, then he nibbles on your ear, his hot breath coupled with a low growl sends you over the edge. He starts kissing your shoulder, then down to your breasts. Shivers run down your spine as he gently bites on one of your nipples, which goes stiff at his touch. You grow impatient. You use your hand to finally guide him inside you and his name escapes your lips at his thrust.

He starts off in a slow, steady rhythm, and you easily move in sync with him. He kisses you softly, occasionally biting your lower lip as he holds you close to himYou pull your knees up towards you and wrap your legs around his torso, squeezing him further in. As if on cue, Bryce speeds up as he pulls away from you in a kneeling position. He lowers himself and lifts your hips against him in a tempo that causes you to grab onto the edge of the mattress of the narrow bed. His strengthens his grip, squeezing you harder with each thrust. You cry out in pleasure as you throw your head back and let your self get lost in the pleasure of Bryce’s movements.

You feel yourself getting closer and closer to climax and you reach out to Bryce. He leans back down and sinks further into you. You wrap your arms around him. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, nuzzling at your messy red curls as he speeds up. You brace yourself.

“Bryce, I’m almost there,” you say, each word uttered in between breaths. He brings his face in front of yours and brushes his lips to yours as he brings you to your melting point. Your body pulsates while Bryce’s rhythm becomes more erratic, then he slows down. You gasp as your body tenses and relaxes almost at the same time. Bryce collapses on his back right next to you then speaks as soon as he catches his breath. You both lie there in silence for what feels like an eternity until you hear a pager go off. Both of you get on your feet to get dressed. You head for the door first but Bryce stops you.

“Are you gonna be okay, Case?” He calls out to you with the usual concern in his voice. Your hand lingers on the door handle but you don’t turn to face him.

“I don’t know,” you say, your monotonous voice barely audible. Without letting him say another word, you walk out of the room and head for the exit.


End file.
